Show KILLED BY ALKALI the strange r malady which has hag been killing wild ducks by thousand in ill no fie marshes around the gront salt lake each year tu to be caused by an n alka inc ilie poison accord according ng to io a preliminary report of the U S department part ment of agricultures Agri cultures investigators ti fresh water is believed to be the only remedy yet discovered As the flats around great salt lake dry after high water salts and alkalis crystallize on the surface of the ground when light rains form pools on the flats or when a steady wind blows the water across the dry barrens the soluble s salts a its are taken up by the water duck and other waterfowl are eager to feed on the newly flooded lands and imbibing these salts and alkalis are poisoned and die the quantity of water which has reached the lake through the bear weber and jordan rivers has been greatly reduced within the past 15 years and in consequence stagnant pools have formed over large sections of this region in these pools the alkalis and salts leached beached from the soil by irrigation are frequently deposited in dry sea sons the conditions become much worse and the number of poisoned birds is enormous the remedy for the situation which is killing vast numbers waterfowl and affecting not only the region around the great salt lake but the abundance of birds elsewhere is to prevent the formation of stagnant water at the mouth of the jordan river there are only two points the mallard holes and the duck puddles where under normal con editions stagnation should occur at the mouth of the weber river however the situation is more more difficult the birds elect I 1 to use the shallow flats along the north channel and it is probable lable that less than 10 per cent of these that gather there at the bof end of the summer are alive at I 1 of the shooting season october 1 if the north channel were ditched and the water waiter thus prevented from spread ling ling on the shallows the ducks would be driven to use the better drained south channel and conditions would undoubtedly improve when the irrigation dams are opened in september and there is an abundance of water the north channel flats could be flooded again in order to attract the birds for the fall shoot ing i A still more serious problem are the extensive flats at the mouth of the bear river the area is too large to make drain i age practicable and the only solution appears to be to increase the water supply during july august a and nd september it has 1 been suggested that if more wa ter were a allowed to pass the ir dams across bear river reservoirs might be established and a supply of fresh water obtained for the summer months in the absence of such means of relief it is recommended that men be stationed on the marshes marshe to gather up the sick birdland birds bird sand and pen them on fresh water so many birds might be saved in this way that it seems the results would justify the campara com para dively slight expense some ducks were brought into the che duckville Duc kville gun club in a little more than a month and of these 73 per cent recovered by separating the weak birds from the others it is probable that the percentage of recoveries could be greatly increased it is also possible that the birds which have recovered may become more or less ess immune to the poison in order to obtain information on this point aluminum bands were aa annn hp evs of YU of 01 aa annn hp evs YU 01 placed upon the legs the birds which were released last year each band bearing the inscription crip tion notify noti the fhe TJ s Depart department trient of 9 agriculture anyone finding ohe dr 0 these band ed birds is requested tested to report it to the department the investigations are being continued this season both with a view of confining the findings of last 6 suggesting preventive ae year ar and measures |